---
id: overview
sidebar_label: Core Concepts
title: Overview
---

Explore the technical framework of Diem’s blockchain, learn the fundamentals, and start contributing as an open-source developer.

### Basics

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    icon="img/protocol-overview.svg"
    iconDark="img/protocol-overview-dark.svg"
    overlay="Key concepts of the Diem Blockchain"
    title="Protocol Overview"
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  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/diem-nodes.svg"
    iconDark="img/diem-nodes-dark.svg"
    overlay="Introduction to Validator and FullNodes"
    title="Diem Nodes"
    to="/docs/core/nodes"
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  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/accounts.svg"
    iconDark="img/accounts-dark.svg"
    overlay="Introduction to account creation, addresses, keys, and currencies"
    title="Accounts"
    to="/docs/core/accounts"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/gas.svg"
    iconDark="img/gas-dark.svg"
    overlay="Learn how the Diem Payment Network uses gas units to charge a transaction fee."
    title="Gas"
    to="/docs/core/gas"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/events.svg"
    iconDark="img/events-dark.svg"
    overlay="Event types and how to query them"
    title="Events"
    to="/docs/core/events"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/diem-clients.svg"
    iconDark="img/diem-clients-dark.svg"
    overlay="Overview of Diem clients"
    title="Diem Clients"
    to="/docs/core/clients"
  />
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### Transactions

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    icon="img/transaction-types.svg"
    iconDark="img/transaction-types-dark.svg"
    overlay="Overview of creation/minting, administration, and payment"
    title="Transaction Types"
    to="/docs/core/transaction-types"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/life-of-a-transaction.svg"
    iconDark="img/life-of-a-transaction-dark.svg"
    overlay="Follow a transaction from submission to being committed to the Diem Blockchain"
    title="Life of a Transaction"
    to="/docs/core/life-of-a-transaction"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/my-first-transaction.svg"
    iconDark="img/my-first-transaction-dark.svg"
    overlay="Create and execute your first Diem transaction on the testnet
"
    title="My First Transaction"
    to="/docs/core/my-first-transaction"
  />
</CardsWrapper>

### Reference

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  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/json-rpc-api.svg"
    iconDark="img/json-rpc-api-dark.svg"
    overlay="GitHub overview of Diem client API"
    title="JSON-RPC API"
    to="https://github.com/libra/libra/blob/master/json-rpc/json-rpc-spec.md"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/python-sdk.svg"
    iconDark="img/python-sdk-dark.svg"
    overlay="The Python SDK on GitHub"
    title="Python SDK"
    to="https://github.com/libra/client-sdk-python"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/java-sdk.svg"
    iconDark="img/java-sdk-dark.svg"
    overlay="The Java SDK on GitHub"
    title="Java SDK"
    to="https://github.com/libra/client-sdk-java"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/go-sdk.svg"
    iconDark="img/go-sdk-dark.svg"
    overlay="The Go SDK on GitHub"
    title="Go SDK"
    to="https://github.com/libra/client-sdk-go"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/cli-reference.svg"
    iconDark="img/cli-reference-dark.svg"
    overlay="Reference documentation for the Diem CLI"
    title="CLI Reference"
    to="/docs/core/diem-cli"
  />
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### Tutorials

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    icon="img/run-a-local-network.svg"
    iconDark="img/run-a-local-network-dark.svg"
    overlay="Create a local test validator network for testing and debugging"
    title="Run a Local Network"
    to="/docs/core/run-local-network"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/query-the-blockchain.svg"
    iconDark="img/query-the-blockchain-dark.svg"
    overlay="Query types and examples"
    title="Query the Blockchain"
    to="/docs/core/query-the-blockchain"
  />
  <SimpleTextCard
    icon="img/my-first-client.svg"
    iconDark="img/my-first-client-dark.svg"
    overlay="Learn how the key elements in the client SDKs work"
    title="My First Client"
    to="/docs/core/my-first-client"
  />
</CardsWrapper>
